Happy and not so happy updates.

Unfortunately, terrible news for one of the squirrels. JoAnn brought them up to Tuft's Friday morning and they took some x-rays. Her mandible was shattered and the molars were totally out of alignment. It was not something that could be fixed. On top of that there was a raging infection in her throat. They were totally amazed that she was even able to eat anything. A good example why some injuries, such as traumas, need to be checked a little more thoroughly on the inside. Externally there seemed to be improvement and she was eating, however the damage not seen was so bad she would only have lingered longer, suffering a great deal.  

Her sister, on the other hand is doing well. JoAnn already has 2 other squirrels close enough in size that she can go in with so she is not alone.

On a happier note....Mason and Cinder are thriving! They have more than doubled in weight.

Cinder's laceration has healed up nicely.

They are eating like little piglets...... 

....and just being darn cute.

And they are definitely enjoying their fur to cuddle in...so thanks to all who have donated furs!!

Meanwhile outside, the "wild" family is out and about and as active as ever. I have run into Gibby, Ringer, River and Belle for sure at night. I think maybe Red too, but it's been so long since I've seen her I'm not sure. Although she wouldn't come right up to me, she had no problem following me around from feeder to feeder as I checked on them like Red usually did. 

During the day I've had a few visitors as well. Everyone looks so different now though, that I'm not always sure who it is! Sometimes I only know it's one of mine because they'll come right down for a visit! 

I was thinking this was one of River's girls. Amazon or Nile were always friendly enough to come over to me, but not so friendly to let me scritch their chin like this time. Then again, that's the thing about these guys! Sometimes they can be friendly as hell and other times they can be grumpy or skittish depending on their mood and what's going on in their lives at the time. One day someone will hang all over you and the next, run at the sight of  you no matter how nice you call to them. Regardless, we had a lovely visit while this girl...possibly Amazon....sat back and told me about her day while having a little bite to eat.

The reds were released a week or so ago. They proceeded to vacate their cage and move into the large indoor pen! So much for going out on their own! Don't get too comfortable in there gang, when the new tenants are ready you're outta there!

Surviving a long fall...two unfortunate squirrels come in.

These 2 poor babies came in yesterday from John the Belmont ACO. They had quite a long fall from a tree onto someones deck. Both were quite bloody and have some pretty severe facial trauma. They are on Metacam for the pain and swelling.....of which there is a lot, especially inside the mouths and noses!

This girl has it the worst.

 

 After getting her cleaned up enough to help her breathing and check the injuries, I'm a little concerned about her mouth and damage to her teeth. The mouth is still quite swollen and painful, but after a long night of stabilizing and re hydrating her, I'm happy to report she finally ate willingly, without letting it dribble out of the side of her mouth. The jaw appears to be moving fine, but everything is still too swollen to see much.

 Her sister, on the other hand, seems to have fared a little better. Most of her swelling is around the sides of her face and her mouth seems fine. Again, once the blood was cleared from her nose, she was also a little more comfortable being able to breathe better. She very eagerly took her syringe this morning and ate very well! They will still have a little trouble due to the swelling and blood inside the nose, but that should clear up and not affect them long term. .

So for now,they are comfortable and prognosis is good on one girl and guarded on the other. But I am encouraged by the fact that they are bright and alert and willing to eat. JoAnn is going to take a look at the mouths. She is a pro with mouth and teeth issues in squirrels and can evaluate it better than I can! Barring anything major that requires a trip to Tufts, hopefully all these girls need is time and TLC!

Tuft's & tail-less squirrels.

The big fat squirrel with the injured tail is doing just fine! His tail looks better with each day. Today, it took me a minute to distinguish between him with his newly shortened tail, and that of one of our tangle-tail gang that was released this past summer with an equally shortened tail..... its not as bloody and swollen at the end anymore like it was here.

This lucky screech regained it's freedom Wednesday night. It was found in a fireplace a couple weeks back and Mary got it to Tufts. Aside from being a little starved and dehydrated, it was fine. Tufts fattened it up and Mary and I drove out to the neighborhood it was found in and it ever so silently disappeared into the night.

After releasing the screech we promptly headed out to Tufts again.....this time with a red tail rescued by Maureen on the MBTA tracks in Billerica. She didn't fare so well unfortunately. The right wing and both legs broken in several places, along with wounds on the abdomen and feet left no alternative but for them to euthanize it. It's a pretty good guess it was probably hit by the train while hunting in the open area of the tracks.

On a more positive note....our barred owl from Bedford is still doing well. I checked in on him after our annual WRAM conference at Tufts last Saturday. As I said before the humerus was fractured and pinned, but it turns out the radius was also broken (now splinted) and the shoulder injured. He'll be recovering for a while from those injuries, but should do fine. We'll know more after the pins and splints come off and we see how well he is able to fly.

The excessive snow this season is taking it's toll on the hawks and especially the owls. They are not finding enough prey and as a result they are starving and freezing.....and a little more careless when chasing what little prey they do find across roads! Tufts is overrun with them! It's like baby season up there instead of the off season! We've managed to squeeze a few very balmy days out of mother nature over these last couple weeks....a lot of snow has melted and more critters are re-emerging to take advantage of it. Lets hope it's enough to give the owl's a reprieve and get them through the rest of the winter!

A note on raccoon teeth & some quick updates.

Let me take advantage of the slow times around here for a little lesson on raccoon teeth....and why they are so good at inhaling chicken parts, bones and all, in record time!

Aside from the pit bull like power of their jaws, they have the usual teeth found in other omnivores, such as molars, incisors and canines. A quick peek in your dogs mouth will look similar. One very important difference....take a look at that upper canine. It is not a smooth, round tooth like in a dog or like the bottom canine. Thanks to the lighting and the small amount of tarter buildup, you can see how the top canine has more of a blade-like edge....a very sharp blade-like edge! I like to think of them as a shark/raccoon hybrid! (especially when that particular tooth is buried deep within the flesh of my hand or arm! LOL). That sharp edge makes it an excellent tool for shredding......not your "average" puncture wound where this tooth is involved.

(Thank you Tash....you were a wonderful model for this.... while you were unconscious and getting your x-rays of course!)

A couple of quick updates. There is a new injured squirrel at the feeders. Looks like something took half his tail off. He's doing great though and it looks better every day. Eventually the tail will heal and the dead part will turn brittle and fall off. It's pretty common and looks worse than it is.

The little emaciated girl is eating regularly out there and I think she's looking better.

As far as the coonies go, Vin has worn out his welcome with the gang. He's harassing the girls (as most young men will...hehe). Love is in the air this time of year for the coonies anyway, and even though he is young, his behavior is still a pain in the ass! Even Tash is fed up with him! He's sporting a new wound on his good rear leg and based on his attitude with Vin, I'm guessing he's the one that put it there. The up side to that is that the new wound forced him to start using the other injured foot more! Self induced physical therapy.....works for me! I'm glad to see him starting to retrain that other foot to work again.

Not having an empty pen to put Vin in, I separated him (with Scrappy to keep him company since he seems to be the only one to tolerate him right now) into the smaller side of the pen. I put up the wire "window" I always put up there to separate it (remember the one they were all smooshed up against when I put the late babies in there?) and the next day it was totally ripped apart and everyone was together again. Got dad working on a stronger one now! It would be so much easier if there wasn't about 3 feet of snow on the ground! Then we could just throw up one of the release pens and move him. Alas, no such luck.

The squirrel cafe.

For those who may be wondering what happens to all the squirrels that get released.....well they end up outside my kitchen window for breakfast every morning of course! The "bird" feeders out there weren't put there for the birds after all! LOL

There were 14 out there on this particular morning. Everyone looks quite fat and healthy I must say. This one is a regular.....and this is the preferred method of dining....hanging vampire style the whole time...every time! As you can see she's got it down to a science!

The coonies aren't the only ones that love pumpkin! I also put some out there for the squirrels and they go nuts for it!There is always one wise guy that has to take the treats I do leave for the birds! Recently the suet (that usually lasts a week or so) kept disappearing by the next day. Finally, after some snow on the ground, I think I figured out the mystery. I think the little rats are going at it, pulling it out and dropping it on the ground. It's too heavy for them to carry it off, but I'm sure the fox that belongs to the prints that lead to the feeder had noooooooo problem scoffing up the chunk of tasty fat! It's a conspiracy I tell ya! The squirrels probably worked it out with the fox.....stop eating us and we'll supply ya some good chow in return! LOLThere was one little guy that looked a little rough around the edges that I'm keeping an eye on. Looks like a large healed scar on it. I'm guessing it was badly injured and holed up somewhere and actually managed to heal. Seems to be doing well now.....a little thin but not alarmingly so (and to be expected if it was holed up healing for a while) but eating up a storm now and apparently well on the road to recovery since it's been out there regularly recently. It won't be long before it fattens right up again like the rest of them!